3 Things to Do Before Applying For Jobs Online

Have you ever wondered what career to go into, what type of job to look for, what kind of business to start or even which degree program or school to select? A career personality test can help answer these questions.

With our careers taking up the majority of the waking hours in our lifetime it certainly makes sense to invest just a bit of time to find one that will make you happy and even excited to be a part of.

Starting a job search, many skip taking a career personality test and go straight to the online job boards and apply for jobs that have been posted. Then, they think they can sit back and wait for offers to roll in. Is this the best approach? No.

Finding a job through a job board is like ‘finding a needle in a haystack.’ It has been reported that only 2 – 3 % of those resumes submitted for jobs online actually make it to the recruiters, and then they will spend on average about 15 seconds looking at it.

Blindly applying to posted positions online will rarely result in the perfect position for your ideal career path. The actual path to finding a job you love takes a bit more planning and work, but it can be a fun process as well.

A career personality test is not only helpful in your job search, it is also fun and helpful to learn about yourself in the process.

A successful search by looking at yourself first before seeing what jobs are posted online. The steps to job search success are:

1. Focus on your past accomplishments, interested and goals for the future.

2. Complete a Career Personality Test for insight into your interests, needs and motivation.

3. Target the types of positions that are best for you based on the results of your career personality test.

4. Network with those in the industry.

5. Submit professional cover letter and resume through contacts.

6. Interview with confidence using best fit from results of the assessment.

7. Negotiate the offer and secure the position.

So you can see why a career personality test is an important component in a job search that will lead to the ideal career. Best of luck in the journey!

J. Patrick O’Donnell is a career consultant certified to deliver the Birkman MethodÂ® and the About U career personality test. He is a founder of Path Insight, which provides details on career personality test options including some with a 110% satisfaction guarantee.